“I’ve been quite blunt about my difference of an opinion on this issue. The IHSAA has been handling it & will continue handling it in the future. We will see if there is a lawsuit & if there is, the courts will weigh in.” -Gov. Holcomb
“Today’s action only strengthens the promise of Title IX, which has had the most profound impact on ensuring women have equal opportunity in sports for nearly 50 years. It’s important for Indiana to not only recognize the contributions and achievements made by female athletes, but to also ensure those opportunities are secured now and in the future,” said House Speaker Todd Huston (R-Fishers) in an email statement.
Holcomb said he shares concerns and confusion raised by the Indiana High School Athletic Association during testimony about exactly who or how procedures will be established and maintained under the current bill
“Today, most members of the supermajority bent to extreme, right wing factions of their party and voted to codify discrimination against vulnerable Hoosier children. This is just one more example of our reactionary supermajority sticking government where it doesn’t belong in order to further their private political agenda.”
“All Hoosier children, including trans kids, deserve our protection, care and love; there shouldn’t be anything political or controversial about that. It’s upsetting to see this body waste time and taxpayer money on bullying minors (and the resulting lawsuits), rather than on any number of policies to really protect women and kids like mental health spending, a state child tax credit or well-funded childcare. It’s short-sighted and a waste of Hoosier tax dollars-we’ll be glad to see this struck down in court.”
In a letter to House Speaker Todd Huston, R-Fishers, Holcomb said the bill leaves too many unanswered questions for him to support the bill “even if I support the overall goal.”
He said the presumption of the policy laid out in HEA 1041 is there is an “existing problem” requiring state intervention. He also pointed to a number of potential issues, including frustration among students, parents and administrators, lawsuits and lawsuits filed or threatened to have been filed in other states after similar legislation was passed.
He said HEA 1041 is unclear how consistency and fairness will be maintained for parents and students across different counties and school districts.
“Meaning, student-athletes could be treated differently according to which school hispaЕ„skie porady randkowe they attend and compete for,” Holcomb wrote. “Frustration of students, parents and administrators will likely follow. This of course only increases the likelihood of litigation against our schools with the courts having to adjudicate the uncertainties.”
Not a single “male seeking to participate on a female team has completed the process established” by the IHSAA policy, he said.
The latest By-Laws & Articles of Incorporation from the Indiana High School Athletic Association allow transgender student-athletes to obtain a waiver through IHSAA’s Gender Policy to participate on single-gender athletic teams.
Our caucus, as well as certain Republicans, including Governor Holcomb, understand that this legislation is both cruel and unnecessary–we already have a process to deal with this on the very rare occasion it becomes an issue
He said he is “heartened” by the IHSAA and its work to help maintain fairness and consistency in all sports.
“Nowhere in the testimony on this legislation was a critique leveled against their model on how to govern this and other complex matters,” he wrote.
In response to Holcomb’s veto, Paul Neidig, commissioner of the Indiana High School Athletic Association, said the specific language of the bill did not “adequately address” the issues at hand.
